‘Loan nothing to do with us’

 OIL Search Limited has nothing to do with the Government’s decision to get a K3 billion loan to buy shares in the company, managing director Peter Botten says.
“We were approached by the Government. It’s a commercial decision, a Government’s decision, not ours,” he told reporters in Port Moresby.
“We have nothing to do with the loan or the process in getting their money. We just ask them if they (Government) want their shares and to get the money by the available date.
“The share deal bought the right of Government to share in the upside of Oil Search. It has nothing to do with whether Exxon is in Elk Antelope.
“Having bought a significant stake in Elk Antelope, Oil Search is interested in seeing the development of those fields in a timely and responsible way that brings the most value to the State and Oil Search shareholders.
“Oil Search will still be a significant equity holder in the Elk-Antelope fields and with two trains likely to be developed using the Elk Antelope resource, plus another possible from PNG LNG, it is possible to more than double the size of the company over the next five years.
“Oil Search has a strong track record for delivering value to shareholders and since the State took up its shareholding in 2002 the share price has increased almost 800 per cent.
“There has been a significant dividend paid, though this is likely to increase with successful commissioning of the PNG LNG project.
“This has been done by being the largest corporate investor in PNG and by delivering successful development of our oil and gas assets.”